Puer
by Negare
Summary: Mirrorverse. A primary school teacher is caught in up the terror of the Autobot Empire's attack upon humanity.


**Puer**

(Boy)

Day One

0900hours

"Alright children, settle into your seats, we have a busy day today. Now, I hope you all bought something for show and tell. Mitchell, why don't you go first, since you went last on Friday?"

A curly haired blond boy stood up from the back of the class, a smile beaming over his young face as he bounded up to the front of the room, a bag in his hands.

"I bought today a really neat thing! Look what my daddy got me back from Ee-git!"

The young boy held up a Shabti.

"Its really old! More then 50 years old!"

The child seemed so excited, and to him 50 years was ancient – the true age of over 3000 years could not so easily be comprehended by a 5 year old.

"My daddy has a awesome as job; he goes to other countries and digs up old things that people in the olden days used!"

The other children in the class were awed somewhat.

"And my daddy said I could keep this one because he's got lots of them!"

"Where's Ee-git?"

"I want a dolly like that, where can I get one?"

"My show and tell toy is better!"

"My toys are new, not 50 years old!"

"My mummy baked me a cake!"

The class of about 22 five year olds started chiming in with innocent and just plain odd statements.

"Okay girls and boys, remember if you have something to say, raise your hand. But since Mitchell has bought something so interesting, let's talk about Egypt".

The teacher walked to the board and pulled down a map that was on a roller, he started to talk to his class in age appropriate language the location of Egypt and its significance in ancient times.

The second child to give their show and tell report was a black haired girl with light grey eyes. She stood in front of her class and then burst into tears.

"Stephanie, don't cry, just talk about what you bought to class today".

The teacher compassionately stated as some of the other little children giggled.

Stephanie managed to get it together and then held up a ratty old teddy bear.

"This is my nana's teddy, she had it when she was little, and she said she took it to school lots of times, and said I could bring it today".

"Okay, very good, Stephanie, you can sit back down. Dakota, you're up next".

A tanned girl with brown hair with a big pink bow and a Dora the Explorer dress got up and held up a beautifully crafted jewellery box.

"This is my Auntie's, I live with her cos my mummy and daddy are with God. My Aunty got this box for her shiny things from her mummy. It makes music and lady dances when I open it".

Dakota awkwardly managed to get the comparatively large box open and it played a squeaky succession of notes that did form a song, a ceramic ballerina with pink tutu standing on a spring spun around and round in time to the music.

Each child in the class showed and told, none having forgotten to bring something their parents owned. After they had finished, there was still 10 minutes before play time, so they were allowed to do some drawing.

**1038 hours**

"How'd your weekend go, Lewis? How are the renovations going?"

"Yeah, it went okay. I managed to tear off the wall paper in the lounge and the new carpet is down in the study. The hardest job was getting the old tiles off the kitchen counter. The whole house is a heck of a mess, but it's worth the effort to get it done up".

Lewis poured himself a coffee and then fussed about trying to find a spoon for the sugar bowl.

"So, did you make it on that date with that girl you were telling me about?"

Lewis asked his friend.

"Hah, it was okay, a fun night if you know what I mean. Of course, she's not someone I'd take home to the folks; nothing will come of it I reckon".

"Why's that?"

"Oh, she's the piercings, tattoos and dyed hair kinda gal. She's okay in small doses, but I couldn't see a relationship with her".

"Fair enough, if you're looking for that ever elusive relationship you probably won't find it in the likes of that".

"Anyway, you still on for pool tomorrow night?"

"Absolutely. Did you talk to Keith about it? I think he wanted in".

"Sure, but Keith and Norm aren't exactly on good terms, so he might not come along… course, if we get him liquored up good and pretty before hand he wouldn't care if Viv shows up".

"Viv? Oh yeah, that vindictive ex wife of his, is he still dealing with those shark lawyers?"

"Sad to say yes".

"Man, I'm glad I'm not in his boots. That's why I'm of the firm mind not to get married unless I'm absolutely sure and ready!"

Lewis stirred two large teaspoons of sugar into his black coffee and took a quick sip to make sure he had the right amount of sweetness.

**1124 hours**

The children were doing what five year old children do best – making a mess. Thankfully there was a large plastic tarp on the ground which would catch the paint they were trying to splatter on large boards in lines and dots resembling letters.

Mr. Lewis Cedar sat at his desk keeping and eye on them as he marked their little stories. He was a smart man, holding a PhD in English, a double major in History and Classics, a BA in art history, Latin and Geography. He was the president of his local Mensa chapter and many who knew of his academic success wondered why he wasted his potential teaching a room full of five year olds their A B Cs, when he could be lecturing at a university with the title of Professor. Lewis had been the youngest of seven children, his parents having been devote Catholics. So he was used to being surrounded by children and their usual shenanigans. Tragically, a house fire took them all from his life when he was 12 and he went to live with his cynical and atheistic grandfather – since then he hadn't stepped foot in a church. Generally believing that any God worth his salt wouldn't allow individuals so pias as his parents and their children to burn to death. Even if there was a god, or gods, Lewis decided he didn't want to know about it.

Mr. Cedar believed strongly in continuing education, he was undertaking study in chemistry and physics. The sciences had never been his strong subjects; he enjoyed math and algebra and decided once he had completed the MA in chem. And physics he would focus on those math subjects. Maybe even go for a LLB or MD. He had a large collection of children's encyclopaedias in his class which he was happy for the children to read. You could never start education too young was his philosophy.

His thoughts were interrupted when Madison and Phoenix got into an argument over which colour was better, red or pink. Madison was staunchly in support of pink, where as the young boy Phoenix was obviously standing firm that red was the bestest colour ever. As they weren't screaming or hitting each other he decided to walk over and just give them a gentle reminder that arguing over colours wasn't the point of the exercise. He also needed to check on the children and see their progress. He could see that Abby was painting what looked like a dog, obviously having lost interest in painting an A3 page sized H.

**1249 hours**

Lewis had just finished mashing his banana into his brown bread when the power cut out. His friend was standing next to the microwave, his back to Lewis.

"Ow, come on! I finally get dibs on the microwave and with only ten minutes left for lunch the damn power cuts out!"

"Between faulty power grids and your choice of women you just don't have any luck!"

The friend turned to playfully glare at Lewis when a large explosion was heard in the distance, within three seconds of that the windows in the staff room shattered inwards, showering three young women with glass as they sat on the couch. The principal who was pinning something about a charity fun run on the notice board lost his balance from the shockwave and fell to the ground. Lewis got off from the ground and went to help the three women, they had multiple gashes and one woman was dead, a piece of glass impaled through her temple. The other two were staggering upwards and were grateful for the assistance and Lewis' attention took theirs from their deceased friend. The principal pulled himself up and went to the empty window pane and looked out. In the distance a large plume of smoke was raising high above the city.

"Alright, those of you who aren't hurt gather up your children and make your way to the emergency evacuation areas… Tess, you go get the school nurse and bring her back here".

Tess being the librarian.

Lewis ran outside followed by his friend. The two stood outside the teachers' lounge, a few of the smaller, weaker children were on the ground while others were in a large throng of them watching the smoke twisting up over the city near by.

"Alright kids, get into your class groups and head to the evacuation area on the basketball courts and wait for further instructions!"

Lewis bellowed to the group.

Some of the children groaned irritably, only because they wanted to watch happenings, or at least the smoke from it.

There was a flash of light over the city followed by a consecutive series of explosions at different locations about the city.

"You think it's the gas mains, Lewis?"

"I dunno… maybe. But we better get these kids organised and figure out who's missing".

"YOU KIDS HEARD MR. CEDAR! GET MOVING!"

His friend shouted. The man teaching the oldest children in the school and known as a strict disciplinarian was not one to be ignored, and so the children marched in their groups of friends and class mates towards the basketball courts.

**1350hrs**

The school had a roll of 1,200, counting those children who weren't in attendance that day it was more like 1,168. Lewis was standing at the front of his class' row and as he looked out over the other lines of classes he realised the entire school couldn't have been present. There were several teachers missing as well. The explosions continued and actually started getting closer to the school. Half an hour or so after the first explosion another series came from the industrial area which was to the south of the school, the city was west. It was located in an expanding suburb, and as there were farmlands and orchards about 10 minutes from the school a lot of rural kids were in attendance.

The principal approached Lewis, his friend and three other teachers who were standing in silence.

"I can't get a hold of any emergency service – the lines are down. I can't even get a dial tone. Its just dead! The power hasn't returned either".

"Whatever has caused those explosions might have taken out the power plant or the lines".

One of the other teachers stated.

"What I don't get is how the explosions have been contained in the city and industrial areas, the two zones are no where near each other, and the industrial centre gets all its power from the plant, not the gas mains like the city".

Lewis' friend informed.

"A terrorist attack?"

One of the women asked.

"It'd explain a lot of what's been going on. But so far we're pretty safe here, I think – if they were going to target schools we'd be hit by now".

The principal added.

"So what else do you want us to do? The children are getting rather restless".

The same woman inquired.

"I don't feel comfortable letting the children back into the buildings. Get some of the balls about the playground and start some games. I'm going to get the Blackberry from my car, maybe the cell towers are still working and I can get online see if there's any info there".

The principal explained, turned then walked off. Lewis shared a concerned glance with his friend as the women left to gather up whatever sporting equipment the children had with them when the explosions began.

**1412hrs**

It has often been said children are resilient, and Lewis certainly believed this as he watched Madison, Dakota and Stephanie played hopscotch, Phoenix and a group of 7 year olds were playing cowboys and Indians, he was only accepted by the group as his brother was 7. Two of the girls were playing hand clapping games while the rest were within his sight, some sitting and playing with toy vehicles when some were just running around playing tag or leap frog.

"Mr. Cedar?"

Josh, a boy in his class asked him.

"What is it, Josh?"

"My mummy and daddy said they were going to pick me up at 2 o'clock today so we could go to the air port and fly to visit my grampa cos he's sick in hospital in Washington. Do you know if they're here yet?"

Lewis looked down at the child, smiled reassured and lied.

"I'm sure they're fine where they are, Josh, but with what's going on they're probably somewhere safe, like you are now. They'll come when this is all over, and that should be soon".

"So you don't think they forgot me?"

He asked.

"No, of course not, Josh. Now you better get back to the game, Stevie looks like he's about to steal your base".

Something told Lewis it would be unlikely that the airport was open and that his parents were safe. Perhaps they were, but given the large billowing smoke clouds and the continuing explosions, he doubted it.

He walked along a few metres just to stretch his legs and ease the cramp that was nagging his right shin. He put his fists into the small of his back and arched to stretch out his spine, looking upwards to flex his neck. That was when he saw something that confused him.

Flying overhead was a concord jet.

"What the hell?"

He whispered to himself, as the engine roared brutally, tearing the sound barrier.

The humans in the school yard dropped to the ground covering their ears and most crying out in pain, Lewis included.

Lying on his back he was still able to see the jet stream. The supersonic jet turned around and started to fire missiles into surrounding neighbourhoods. An explosion possibly only a kilometre away was so powerful it rocked the buildings of the school. Children started screaming as a huge piece of debris – part of a roof, smashed into the roof of the computer suite, there was a following explosion in the building which sent flaming building materials into neighbouring structures.

Another jet appeared on the skyline and began firing into other school buildings. It was at this point when the teaching staff lost all control of the children and they began rushing around screaming. It was complete chaos. Lewis noticed that the principal hadn't returned, several of the teachers were missing, and a few lay dead near what had been the staff lounge. His friend was also gone from his field of vision. Lewis realised he was going to have to try and gain some level of control or there would be a large loss of life. As he began to stand a slight rumbling sensation passed up his body from the ground, a loud engine sound was heard chugging over the sounds of the burning fires. Lewis turned and saw the maroon coloured tank roll up over a mass of rubble. The stopped three metres from the pile and its turret turned towards the largest mass of children. There was a flash of light, a huge bang, the tank shuddered backwards and the children were dead. The projectile slammed into the middle of the group, the explosion incinerated the majority of them, those on the edge were blown apart, their limbs and chunks of flesh flew out in every which direction, splattering blood about the still clear areas of the school ground.

Lewis began running towards a single child standing in the path of the tank. He screamed at the girl to get out of the way, but she didn't hear, whether it was the deafness caused by the explosions or the loud rumbling of the tank. Lewis grabbed her and dived downwards. He stood up, holding her, checking her for injury, she was crying. Then she started screaming. He looked at her, and saw the fear in her eyes, the tears streaming down her face, her lips quivering, she pointed. He turned to see the tank parked directly in front of them. This was it, thought the intelligent teacher, his end would come now. But at least he maintained his values, not going out like a coward begging for his life. Then something that would haunt him to his dying days, the tank began to unfold, with grinding gears and clanking metal, the maroon death machine stood upwards into a humanoid shape. It reached down and grabbed the girl from Lewis' grip.

"POW-KABLOOEY! I am gonna kill you all! KA-POW"

He then crushed the small girl in his hand and threw the remains at Lewis. The man stumbled backwards and tripped over a pile of rocks. The child's blood splashed down on him and through the haze it dropped into his eyes he saw the creature clenching a fist and bringing it in his direction.

Something inside him clicked, an instinct based from an animalistic segment, long since dormant in his academically inclined brain. He rolled quickly forward, pushing himself upwards on his blood covered feet, and ducked through between the tank's legs.

Its size proved to be a disability when it came to pivoting quickly. Lewis didn't waste any time in sprinting as far away from that tank thing as possible. He pushed a few stray children ahead of him towards a larger gathering. Not having clue what to do about such a large group with such a savage monster baying for their blood.

The tank transformed and started firing missiles into buildings that hadn't been damaged or weren't completely annihilated. It seemed to be laughing, and continued with its string of profanities and exclamations.

Lewis reached three little boys cowering under a fallen shade covering.

"Are you three okay?"

He yelled at them over the noise of tank firing, explosions and roaring fires.

"I want my daddy".

"My tummy hurts".

The other boy said nothing. Lewis looked him in the eyes and saw he was just frightened. The boy with the aching stomach was an unnatural grey colour; his skin was clammy and cool to the touch. Lewis saw the boy had his hands pressed flat against his abdomen.

"Let me see".

Lewis said softly as he pulled back the child's hands, only to see a loop of intestines hanging out, his pants were soaked through with blood. The boy groaned again and started to sway, his eyes flickered back in their sockets and he slumped forward onto the teacher. Lewis caught him easily and carefully laid the dying boy on the charred concrete. There really wasn't any time for him to attempt to comfort the child as he had other issues to concentrate on. Like the monster. Like the other two boys. Like the other children in the school running around screaming others crippled with panic. As tragic as it was, as much as he knew it would disturb him for the rest of his days, he was going to have to leave the dying child.

"You two come with me, you stay here under the cover, I'll come back with help".

Lewis grabbed each of the other two by a hand and smiled at the boy who would be dead soon enough, who didn't seem too fussed about being left. The blood loss had probably calmed him somewhat, or perhaps he was wise enough to know he wouldn't survive much longer.

Another blast exploded just behind them, huge splinters of burning wood flew outwards in a 360 degree radius, dropping multiple children. The tank unfolded again and moved about in such a way as it could only be described as a victory dance.

"BLAM SMASH KA-PLOWIE!! You flesh creatures don't handle the heat too well? Not to mention projectiles! WHAM BAM SLAMMO".

He leapt up into the air and then lunged downwards sliding along the ground steamrolling about 23 unfortunate ten year olds. The robot was still for a moment, silently examining the blood he found himself covered in. He held his hands up and watched as the chunkier selections slid down his arms slowly. It was still warm, and felt slightly sticky. It had an odd aroma, an almost coppery scent, which seemed odd for an organic being. The red colouring intrigued him more then anything else about it. He flicked a larger piece of muscle matter from the top of his wrist and stood.

Lewis wasn't an idiot, and he certainly wasn't going to wait around to see what else happened, or what that creature would continue to unleash. He gathered as many of the students as possible and started leading them out of the immediate area of disaster. He had no idea where to take them, or where he could find safety, but figured given their most pressing issue was that maniacal machine he ascertained as far from this school as possible was probably the best bet.

"Lewis!"

It was one of the school secretaries, they only knew each other because she had dated his neighbour and that's how he'd heard of the job. Tanya was her name. Or Tina? He wasn't entirely sure as they didn't have that much contact. She ran to him with seven 12 year olds.

"There's an old bomb shelter on the other side of the cafeteria, if we can get there we might have a chance".

She explained. Since he had no ideas, her's was good enough and it sounded plausible. Anything was better then dying here at the hands of that behemoth. The only real problem was the cafeteria was on the other side of the school, there were collapsed buildings while others were engulfed in flames. The other issue was what if something had collapsed or was burning over the entrance? There were two many horrendous variables to contemplate upon while they attempted their escape.

Along the way they picked up other students, but no more staff. The cafeteria could be seen up a head, it wasn't damaged too seriously but they'd have to go round the building into the car park, where thick black smoke was rising into the skies. There was a section of class rooms that were connected by corridors to the cafeteria; part of that building was starting to burn. Several windows were broken and smoke was spilling out, there were no signs of flames, so obviously the fire was deep within and was only just starting. Part of another entrance way was partially collapsed.

"Looks like we're going to have to go through the parking lot".

Tanya said, pointing towards a small alley way.

"Right kids, buddy up, hold hands and let's go".

Lewis stated.

There was no complaints from the 12 year olds, no matter how uncool it was to hold hands with other, or what cooties they could catch from the boys, they realised they were in a situation where such protests wouldn't benefit them.

They made it through into the car park, a huge explosion ripping along the section of class rooms which had only been smouldering. A section of wall at the end of the alley they'd just passed through had collapsed blocking the entrance. There was no going back, so however bad the parking lot was, they had no choice but to continue. The children no longer cried, perhaps exhaustion, perhaps they were all cried out, or perhaps they just understood the importance of not making a noise and the complete futility of it.

The cafeteria had taken heavy damage from the explosion and the entire roof had been lifted upwards by the fireball before falling back down and landing on the adjacent wall collapsing it into the car park. Cars were burning and exploding. The fleet of school buses was completely eradicated, most were turned on their sides or roofs, others were twisted into unidentifiable wrecks. Bodies lay strewn about, most burnt to the bone so they were just sticky skeletons, others were just bloody smears. The principal lay dead three metres from his car, his blackberry in his hand. The lower half of his body was missing, his skull cracked open and his brains spilt out over the pavement.

"Look down at your feet, children".

Tanya whimpered, practising what she preached.

A fire truck sat parked at the entrance to the lot, between them and the entrance to the bomb shelter.

"Well, at least help's arrived".

The receptionist stated as she hurried towards it, the cluster of 12 year old girls ran behind her. Something inside Lewis told not to go forward, something didn't seem right, something wasn't right… something…

The fire truck began to unfold, much in the same way the tank did. It stood to its full height and started to laugh.

"Oh, little humans, you truly wish to be disposed of?"

He aimed his cannon at them.

"Then who am I to not oblige you?"

Fire tore out from his cannon and engulfed the humans; their screams were aborted by the oxygen being sucked from their lungs as the fire around them took every last molecule of the gas. The heat so great Lewis felt the hairs on his arms start to curl. He stepped back, holding his arms out in an attempt to protect the other children. When the fire burnt out there was nothing left of the females. They were gone forever. The fire engine turned to face Lewis and his charge.

"Mr. Cedar! I'm scared!"

One of the children behind him screamed, the others loosing the self-control they held earlier and they began to cry. The robot just continued to laugh, enjoying their suffering. He sprayed fire from his cannon along the collapsed side of the cafeteria before taking aim again at the plant life on the other side of the lot. Lewis looked around them, they had no way out… well, unless that creature moved out of the way, but somehow the man didn't see that happening anytime soon.

The 8 year old child who had exclaimed completely lost it and began to look around hopelessly, until he realised the only way out was being blocked by the robotic pyro. He ran towards him screaming he didn't want to die. The creature just laughed and waited till the child was close enough that he was able to stomp down on the boy, squishing him into the pavement.

Having witnessed further carnage, the children gave into their fear and began running around the lot searching for a way out. There was none. The creature seemed to relish that panic. It bent down and picked up a handful of burning rubble and began throwing it at each of the children. A rock struck a child with such force that her eye balls erupted out of their sockets, just as the rock tore through the front of her face, chunks of brain coming with it. Other children were hit just as forcefully, one loosing an arm as it struck their shoulder, another loosing mobility as it passed through their spine. The heat of the rocks such that they were horribly burned and the clothes on most of them ignited, furthering their injuries. Lewis realised that very few of the children were still alive. It was going to be another thing that would follow him till his last breath – leaving those last children. But what could he do? Die in this place along side them. Their deaths would save him as the machine had moved from the only exit and Lewis found himself behind the remains of the cafeteria. He would have headed straight to the bomb shelter if he knew where it was. Having not worked here long enough he hadn't picked up on eccentricities of the school. He'd heard that the school had been built in 1915 and had large bomb shelters built throughout the compound. At the height of the cold war the shelters had been upgraded to be able to withstand a decent sized nuclear blast. Now, however, he'd heard they were just used as storage for documents and cafeteria supplies. He'd just have to try and get out of this before one of those things caught up with him.

**1700hrs**

Lewis had found what appeared to him to be a good hiding place. It was a ditch, probably crafted by one of those beasts, a series of corrugated iron lay over the top providing some protection, or at least stealth. The only bad thing about his location was what he could see. He'd been sitting here, according to his watch, for the last past hour. Another creature had shown up at some time, a police car. It had unfolded, barked orders at the other two and next thing Lewis was witnessing was the surviving students rounded up and lined up on the field. The police car had walked along the group looking down at the shivering wrecks of childhood.

"This set will be ineffective as slaves and Perceptor has what he needs".

The robot folded down into the police car and drove away.

There was some discussion between the two remaining creatures, and eventually Lewis could see them splitting the group into two. Lewis then saw Mitchell sitting there with Phoenix and Madison. The three children looked shell-shocked and stared blankly ahead at the creatures that would kill them. The fire engine stood there and grinned evilly as he sprayed a form of napalm on one of the groups. Once it hit each individual child the orangey slough oozed down over their bodies, melting their flesh, some parts erupting in flames, the screams would follow Lewis into his dreams. The other group of children having seen what could possibly await them, a few of them began to panic, several tried to flee.

"WHACK! BOOF! SMASH! You little blobs can't escape! SMACK! BANG!"

Lewis watched in horror, unable to divert his gaze from the creature that had grabbed one of the children, the 7 year old sister of one of the girl's in his class, Stephanie. He held her tightly in his fist then peeled her like a banana, throwing the strips of skin over his shoulder and into the crowd. The other children he gathered up in one hand full and crushed them into his chest cannon, which he then fired into the group, killing the majority. Only Mitchell, Madison and Phoenix remained.

The creature walked towards them, not interested in any more vocalisations, wanting to kill the final flesh creatures so he could continue on his destruction of the planet's cities and massacre of its people – or the people who wouldn't be selected as slaves, or Perceptor's cut.

Phoenix was killed first. The beast held him by his right arm before plucking off his legs then his left arm. The boy screamed as the blood gushed out, spraying the metallic monster. With such a small volume of blood and an inability to compensate greatly the child expired, the creature simply throwing him away.

Madison was next. Her death was just as cruel and as messy. The creature held her by her head and thrust his index finger into her side; he hooked it into her pelvis and tore it outwards and ripped upwards, tearing her spine out. The view of this torture was so hideous it blocked out Lewis ability to hear the screams that came out of that poor child's mouth. The beast flicked the pieces of the five year old girl to the ground and turned, grinned evilly and picked up Mitchell.

Lewis managed to burry his face into his hands and curled up into a ball, listening to the sounds that Mitchell made during his murder. It was chilling. And it the creature seemed to lengthen the process as Mitchell screamed for his mother for almost five minutes. Then there was silence from the boy and laughter from the creature.

The two creatures folded down into their vehicle modes and chugged off, obviously to some place where they could continue their genocide. Lewis stayed still in his sanctity and started to cry.

**Chapter Two**

**Day Two**

**0643 hours**

Lewis woke in the morning as the sun managed to push its rays through the heavy clouds. His eyes were sticky with sleep but also with the many dried tears he had shed before he had finally succumbed to exhaustion. Laying there he was too afraid to venture out, but needing to void, he just decided to go in his pants. What was left of his clothing was blood stained and charred, so urine probably wouldn't make it worse. At first he thought the smell in the ditch was from his own contribution, but after a few moments realised it was the smell of death, and of burning buildings and materials.

Wiping away a second bout of tears he decided to just climb out and take a look around. He couldn't hear any of the creatures, but the sounds of explosions in the distance occasionally rung out. The only other real noticeable and discernable sound was the raging fires. He found another reason for climbing out, and that was he was weary of the fire approaching. Having witnessed what fire could do, he decided he didn't to burn to death. Crawling out, he noticed the surrounds had changed a great deal over the night. The cafeteria fire had burnt out, the building now just a pile of cinders. The connecting section of class rooms were also burnt out completely. Fire still smouldered in the car park. The grass where surviving children had been incinerated was blackened down to the dirt. A huge fire burned intensely in the gym and the larger school buildings. Lewis wiped his eyes, noting there was more then tears on his hands, and he started walking across the dead field towards a park that boarded on the back of the school.

The park had not been spared the march of destruction these creatures were spilling out upon earth. The trees no longer held their foliage, they were just burnt and charred trunks, some had fallen, and others still stood but were unstable. The grass was gone, burnt down to the dirt. The children's play things in the park were twisted and distorted from extensive heat. Charred bodies lay about the area, some where in pieces, others were just crushed. It was unpleasant. He clambered over a fence that boarded the park. He found himself in the back yard of a residential property. It looked so normal, so untouched, considering it was right next to where a fiery massacre had taken place. The swing creaked in the gentle breeze that passed through. He walked towards the house nervously. The only odd thing about the property was the back door was open. Lewis wasn't sure if he should go in, while not concerned with the lack of manners in regards but rather, what if something showed up again and started firing on the house? Sudden hunger pangs struck him, followed by thirst and a need for clean clothing pushed him inwards.

The house seemed so normal, so untouched, there were a pile of magazines on the kitchen, one open on a page about a recent celebrity divorce. It sat next to three bags of groceries. The blood from a meat product had soaked through onto the counter and had dripped onto the ground. Things started to get eerie when he walked into the living room and found a bowl of popcorn spilt on the floor in front of the TV, the DVD remote lay about a metre from the bowl, the batteries had fallen out. The small coffee table in the centre of the room was tipped over and a bottle of Pepsi lay, cap still on, next to the book shelf. The front door was open, and on the lawn was the tell tail sign that those creatures had been here. There was a large charred area; a human hand lay in the garden where it had fallen after the body it was attached to had been incinerated. Blackened cars lay in various positions along the street, and other homes had varying levels of damage. Lewis took several steps backwards into the house and closed the door. He retreated up stairs, all of which was untouched, normal and if he didn't know any better almost as if the owners could come home any moment. The more he saw of the house the more he believed it was home to college students. The house was slightly grubby, but had a large array of expensive electronics, DVDs and music CDs. The rooms he found himself in had posters of bands that weren't exactly mainstream, computers, laptops, unmade beds and a lot of text books that were too complicated for school aged children or teens. Eventually he found a room that belonged to a male, there were some heavy black demin jeans folded over a chair and an assortment of t-shirts on the desk in front. Lewis helped himself to the jeans and a plain black T.

He didn't give much hope to the plumbing working and he was correct. He used a sponge in the water in the tank of the toilet to give himself a quick clean before slipping into the clothes. He was staring at himself in the mirror, noting a gash on his forehead, bruising around his left eye, a split lip, a chipped front tooth and several burns about his form when he felt a gentle rumbling. He turned and looked out the window, he swallowed hard when he saw yet another of those creatures walking up the street. It stood still for a moment then fired its cannon at something; Lewis heard a series of screams and then silence. Deciding it would be best not to be on the upper level he rushed down the stairs and back into the kitchen where he saw an open door that he'd noted before led down into a basement. Lewis closed the door behind him and then stumbled down the stairs in the dark. There were a few cracks of light that came through some boarded up windows. Lewis cowered down behind a freezer and waited to see if the rumbling would pass.

**0930 hrs**

Lewis had been crying again. He was still hiding in the basement. The rumbling had moved on rather quickly from when the unknown had been slaughtered but Lewis had remained where he was, still to afraid to venture out again. Of course, he couldn't wait for ever; he was going to have to go. He walked up the stairs and entered the kitchen. Lewis felt awkward stealing, but of course, the people who owned the place were probably dead or were in someone else's house stealing their food. Lewis found that fridge didn't have a great deal of food in it, a pizza box with just one slice, an opened can of spaghetti, a mouldy jar of strawberry jam and a loaf of bread. The grocery bags on the counter held mostly 2 minute noodles, an assortment of chips, another loaf of bread and a huge jar of peanut butter and jelly. Lewis, having an allergy to peanuts left the jar of PB&J, but he took the noodles, bread and chips in the re-usable bag, obviously an environmentally friendly bunch of students.

Walking along the fronts of the remaining houses, in case he needed to jump behind bushes or into gardens, Lewis started to wonder what he should give thought too. He tried not to think of his family, or of his friends, he knew the fate of his colleagues. He tried not to think of his dog, his two budgies, and his two rabbits. He tried not thinking of the condition his house might be in, along with the fate of his precious possessions. Photo albums, family heirlooms and year books. He had to reside himself to the fact he probably would never see those things again. He tried to think of chemistry and physics formulae, but didn't see the point as it wasn't like he would ever get to complete those degrees. He found his mind starting to wander about the state of other cities and countries. Were they still there? Was it just Oregon that had been struck? What were those things? Chinese or Russian built? Or of a different origin. He really didn't know what to occupy his mind with. That was a problem for Lewis as with such a high level of intelligence he often needed something to keep him thinking, to use his mind to its potential. He didn't want to think about what he had just lived through and he certainly didn't want to think about what he was going to have to try and do. So he shut off his brain as best he could, silencing those internal voices and began to focus on the surrounds and just getting the hell away from here.

**1220 hours**

He'd gone maybe three hours without seeing anything of unknown original. Mostly bodies, remains of bodies, evidence that someone had been killed somewhere and generally just absolute destruction. He felt himself start to cry again, he had never been the kind of man who was sensitive or who would just cry, but given the circumstances he didn't think anyone would hold it against him. Perhaps it was just stress and shock. He did inwardly mourn for the children in his class, now all dead. He was disgusted at himself momentarily as he thought that their parents were most probably dead as well so he would never have to face them so he had no reason to be upset. But what if someone's parents were still alive? What if he ran into Mitchell's father? That child died an atrocious death, tortured to his last breath, suffering in a way no child should. He wondered about Phoenix and Madison and Stephanie and Dakota, were their parents still alive? He was still alive, and he was just a teacher, he'd survived those creatures raining fire and brimstone down upon his work place and he survived, he was the only one, but here he was. Alive. Chances were, someone's parent was still alive. Mitchell's father might even be overseas at this moment. Maybe Madison's mother, a stock broker, was cowering in the basement of her company's building, praying that her daughter's teacher was looking after her.

He aborted those thoughts quickly as they were starting to cause him physical pain as he held in the grief and tears.

Lewis suddenly noticed he was in farm land. Turning around all he could see behind him were flames and smoke. Ahead of him was a farm house, a barn and a paddock, the once expensive animals now dead, the cows and bull lying on their sides, some charred, others their viscera spread over a large area from their bodies. These creatures really were sadistic, nothing but monsters. He wondered how many there were, could the three he saw be responsible for all this carnage? He climbed the fence into the paddock and headed towards the smouldering structures.

The farm house was mostly a brick structure, so it still stood; the roof had caved in as it had burnt. The barn having been constructed of corrugated iron was now just a skeleton of support beams, several panels of iron had fallen away from the supports though. Dead chickens lay about the yard between the barn and the house, he noticed a dead cat in the drive way and a dead dog lying on a collapsed chicken house. The usual signs of blood, gore, and scorch marks indicated to him that humans had dwelt here less then a day ago. Lewis walked around the remains of the barn and found a barrel with some water in it, floating on top were some ashes but he was able to scrap them from the top and take a cupped hand full to drink. It had the strong taste of burnt matter and was a bit stale – obviously the water was meant for animals, or for nothing at all, regardless, it was refreshing and certainly nice to have something moisten his lips. He took another few mouthfuls before deciding to look around for a bottle. He should have tried to take one from the student house, but having not thought about it at the time didn't help him now. Lewis noticed a car parked in under a tree, a heavy branch had fallen down crushing the mid section of the vehicle. Maybe it would have a water bottle in it, so he headed over.

"Hey… you".

He stopped and turned around quickly to see a young man poking his head out of the ground.

"Don't just stand there, get over here".

He whispered hoarsely.

There was a wood pile next to the fallen chicken coop. On closer inspection he saw the wood was stacked around the entrance to a tornado shelter. Lewis wouldn't ordinarily climb down into an underground shelter with a strange man on a destroyed farm, but he realised he had been doing a lot of things lately that he wouldn't' ordinarily do. This whole mess wasn't exactly ordinary. His new acquaintance shut the door and he found himself in the dark.

**1300hrs**

Lewis found himself in the shelter with the man who called to him, a woman in a business suit that was ripped and singed and a man in track pants that were very dirty and stained with blood, given the amount of blood it probably wasn't all his.

"I'm Cletus".

Said his rescuer. He wore heavy boots, a woolly jersey and green cargo pants.

"That's Wendy and Mack".

He pointed.

"I'm Lewis".

He sat down and joined them in their silence.

**1542hrs**

"So… where did you come from, Lewis?"

Wendy asked.

"Central City, I was at Mt. St. Helen's elementary school when they… whatever the hell they are… attacked".

He explained.

"That's in the suburb of Mount View, right?"

Mack chimed in.

"Yeah".

"You a teacher?"

Cletus asked.

"Yeah".

Lewis replied.

"I wanted to be a teacher".

Wendy said glumly.

"Why didn't you?"

"I'm not that smart".

She replied.

"Oh… okay".

Lewis wasn't sure how to answer that.

"You look smart in that suit".

Cletus added.

"I was on my way to a job interview; I was on a bus heading through the industrial area outside of Central".

"What kind of job?"

Mack inquired.

"Oh… um… as a petroleum distribution engineer".

"Sounds like a mighty smart job".

Cletus stated.

"Heh… basically I'd pump gas".

"Oh".

They were silent again for a few minutes, each sitting with their own pain and thinking of their own loss.

"What about you, Mack?"

Cletus asked.

"What about me, what?"

"What do you do?"

"Oh, I sell computers at Cen-Mart".

"You must know a lot about electronics then?"

"Hell no, Clet, I just sell them, all I know is what's stated on the sale's pamphlets. I'm guessing you're a farmer?"

He replied to Cletus.

"No, actually I'm a chef in Portland, at a place called The Plate. I was driving home when those things attacked. Its my car under that tree out there".

Lewis felt bad for thinking with a name like Cletus and being on a farm, that his saviour was some kind of hill billy.

"How'd you know this place was here?"

The teacher asked.

"The farmer he got me down here, then he went to find his wife… that was yesterday".

They all went quiet again.

"I didn't even know his name".

Cletus added sadly.

There was another lengthy moment of silence.

"I used to go to Mt. St. Helens' elementary".

Mack suddenly stated.

"Really?"

Lewis asked.

"Yeah. My brother sends his children there now".

More silence.

"I haven't been there very long, so I don't know the area that well".

"Where you from originally?"

Wendy asked.

"New York".

"I always wanted to go there".

Wendy added.

"I worked there once, nice little Italian place, but that was almost 20 years ago now".

Cletus said.

"So why'd you come out here?"

Mack inquired.

"Um… I lost my wife in 9/11".

"Aw, man, I'm so sorry…"

"Its okay Mack, you didn't know".

"We were going to come out here anyway, she was from Portland and wanted to be closer to family. After she… after 9/11 I came out here, and worked around Portland for a few years, then just a few months ago I started at St. Helens".

"I guess we're probably all in the same boat when it comes to dead family, now".

Cletus said tactlessly.

Wendy bit back her tears but failed and started to sob.

"Hey, hey, Wendy, it'll be okay, but you gotta keep it quiet, they could come back".

Mack comforted her.

"So what kind of food do you serve up at The Plate?"

Lewis asked, to try and change the subject.

"We're kinda high end, the cheapest meal on the menu is about 50$, but I headed over to LA a few months back to interview some prospective new chefs for the place because we want to change our menu to reflect a changing market. We have some chicken dishes, fish dishes and meat dishes. Everything is all organic and free range so its where most of the cost comes from".

Lewis got the feeling that Cletus could talk about his job and the types of menus all day.

"You from here originally?"

He asked.

"No, I'm from LA, its okay, you can say it, how does an LA boy end up with a name like Cletus?"

"Well, it would have been rude of me to ask".

Lewis said with a chuckle.

"My mother and her father didn't get along very well. Anyway, her father – my grandfather if you didn't follow – he was a racist bastard who hated this black guy who lived next door, Cletus. Anyway, long story short, my mother married Cletus' son and named me for Cletus just to get under her father's skin. My dad died before I was born so I never knew him, but my grandfather helped raise me".

"Oooh, sordid".

Wendy giggled, which was a welcome relief to her sobs.

"Did you have any further contact with your racist grandfather?"

Mack asked.

"Not really, he died about 10 years ago, my mother didn't go to the funeral but I did out of this feeling of obligation. I wasn't even sure I was in the right place till I saw one of my cousins half way through the service!"

The small group shared a genuine laugh, albeit quietly.

"My mum was the opposite for me".

Lewis began.

"She didn't like Asians for some reason, I don't know if she was always like that, because she became particularly vocal when the first girl I took home was Japanese. She was so lovely, I don't see how my parents couldn't like her, polite, well mannered, conservative, nicely dressed, fastidious and the highest grades in our school!"

"My parents always hated my girls".

Mack shook his head as he inwardly recounted some personal event.

"I bought one home who dressed and looked like a guy… oh, believe you me, my father was so relieved when he found out Sam really was a girl!"

They laughed again. Lewis bought out his bag of food as he was feeling peckish and they all shared a meal of the cheapest brand of salt 'n vinegar chips and a slice of white bread each.

Their conversation went well into the late hours of the night; they all needed to find something other then what had happened out there and the events that bought them together in this hole. It also helped focus their attention away from the gnawing hunger that hadn't really been satisfied by such nutritionally worthless food stuffs.

**Chapter Three**

**Day three**

**1100 hrs**

Lewis was surprised when he was told how long he'd slept. He knew he was exhausted, he knew he just wanted to lie down and never get up, but given the hard concrete floor, damp and rough with the flimsy blanket he didn't think he'd sleep well at all. Sitting up he found Mack and Wendy had slept just as deeply and just as long.

"Did you get much sleep, Clet?"

Mack asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, but I wake up early anyway – its habit from my damn job".

He laughed.

"Guess its time for a healthy breakfast of white bread and chips".

Wendy stated, sounding less then enthused.

"Well, there's some 2 minute noodles in there as well".

Lewis informed.

She smiled and gave a slight laugh.

They started their late breakfast, or early lunch with little fuss or concern over portion size. All of them knew they had to conserve the meagre rations, but something else told them that what was the point? What were they surviving for? They fight off starvation one extra day just live long enough to meet a messy fate at the hands of those robotic beasts?

"I think we need to talk about what we're going to do".

Lewis said grimly after they had finished eating.

"Do we have too?"

Wendy groaned.

"I mean, can't we just stay down here, I'm sure they'll leave eventually".

"And even if they don't, the govt won't just by and let those things or whoever rampage against Oregon".

Mack added.

"Yeah, maybe, but how do we know they're just in Oregon? How do we know Washington isn't a smouldering pile of rubble as well?"

Cletus added.

"But the rest of the world, the Chinese, the Russians, the UN, they won't let these things kill us all".

Wendy continued.

"How do we know it isn't the Chinese, the Russians, hell, it could even be the North Koreans or Iranians".

Lewis stated.

"But President Bush wouldn't let those things, who or whatever they are, march all over us!"

Wendy exclaimed.

"He's probably dead. If you're going to invade and destroy a place you'd want to target their leadership first".

Lewis continued.

"I think you're naïve, Wendy, no offence, and anyone else who thinks help is coming. Doesn't matter what those things are or where they came from, the damage I've seen them do, and the amount of people I've seen them massacre tell me they're not here to talk about diplomatic differences they're here to wipe us out, for what reason is anyone's guess".

Cletus was a rather intelligent man and seemed to have given this a lot of thought.

"So it takes us back to our original topic of what do we do now?"

Mack crossed his arms over his chest and lent against the wall of the shelter.

"I guess we need to go up top and have a look around, if its safe to leave we're just going to have to".

Lewis replied.

"I don't want to. I feel safer down here, and that's where I'm going to stay".

"Wendy, it doesn't matter if you feel safer here, you can't stay here forever. There's not enough food or water and those creatures could swing back this way any time".

"Mack is right, Wendy. Besides, if we leave we're more likely to run into help, maybe Peacekeepers or the Red Cross or maybe even our own troops".

Lewis said.

"I don't care, I'm staying put!"

"Well, we can't force you to go, Wendy. We'll just have to divvy up the food and leave you with your supply".

Lewis reached for the bag.

The men realised quite rightly that Wendy wouldn't last here, and eventually she'd realise that when hunger sat in. At that point she'd try and venture out looking for food, she'd be hungry, thirsty and exhausted, if she ran into one of those things she'd be killed. But the reality was they couldn't force her and none of them really wanted to debate it any further, they were too tired themselves. Their bodies might have been rested, but emotionally it was just too overwhelming to intentionally try and sway her.

**1320hrs**

Mack walked at the front of their feeble procession carrying their blankets, followed by Cletus who held their bag of foods and Lewis who had the water. The teacher kept looking over his shoulder to see if Wendy had changed her mind and was running to catch up. Eventually when they had reached the other side of a gentle hill he could no longer see the farm, only a few wisps of smoke drifting from the farm's remains.

Mack's watch told them that they'd been in the shelter for the better part of two days, while Lewis had only been with the one. Inwardly Lewis was surprised if not a little dismayed that Mack and Cletus so easily left Wendy when they'd known her longer… but as they all knew, it was her choice and they couldn't very well force her. The last thing they needed was a woman screaming to let her go or trying to carry her when they had their own burdens. He wished Wendy all the best and if he was a religious man he might have asked some deity to give her special attention. It was probably an awful time to be an atheist, no matter how illogical a belief in a god was, it was most likely giving a lot of people a sense of hope right about now.

They walked silently for several kilometres. Even with their exhaustion the movement felt good, and it was certainly better then waiting in a small concrete hole in the ground. Lewis wondered what Wendy was doing now, what she was thinking; it must have been so depressing for her to be alone.

"I have to go back; I don't feel right leaving Wendy there".

He stated. The other two stopped and turned to look at him.

"We can't stop you, Lewis, but if that's what you need to do then so be it".

Cletus replied.

"And at least you two will be together, and we won't be alone".

Mack added.

"Tell you what, I was going to take us to a small town near the state boarder, it's called Trout River, Wendy and I were talking about it a few days ago, so she knows where it is. We'll meet you there… if its no longer there then head for Sand's Pass, she knows where that is too".

Cletus explained as he reached out and handed Lewis a bag of BBQ chicken chips and a pack of noodles. Lewis gave them two of the three bottles of water he carried. They shared a glance for a moment not really knowing what else to say, and they then parted ways, Lewis turning back towards the farm, hoping he'd find Wendy alive and all of them hoping they'd meet up in Trout River.

**1540hrs**

Lewis couldn't get too badly lost as they had only walked straight along the road passed the farm. He found himself back at the property; it was still as morbid and empty as it was when they'd left Wendy there. Thankfully he hadn't run into any of those beasts, perhaps they had moved on, having no further use for this area, the vast majority of its inhabitants having been slaughtered.

The teacher climbed over the twisted gate and jogged along the perimeter fence towards the shelter. Coming round the corner of what had once been the barn he saw something that chilled his blood. One of the large trees that was seemingly untouched bore the marks of emotional destruction. Hanging from one of the branches was Wendy.

Lewis screamed her name and started running towards the makeshift gallows. He grabbed the apple box that she'd used to stand on and climbed up to release her from the shabby noose made from the tatty remains of her jacket.

The teacher remembered his first aid training and had her on the ground; loosening the noose from her neck he slammed her chest giving a pericardial thump before starting CPR. It was when he formed a tight seal around her mouth that he realised she was long gone. He didn't have to be a coroner to know the cold, clammy lips belonged to a dead woman. Her skin was an unnatural blue and her eyes blood shot and lifeless. Lewis slumped backwards onto his feet and cried weakly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left, we shouldn't have left!"

He bellowed as he felt waves of despair ripple over him. Leaning forward he rested his head on her chest and wept, the grief so powerful the sobs came from his very soul. Lewis blubbered for another ten minutes before getting a hold of himself. He wiped his tears and stood up, looking down at the woman's lifeless form. In some ways she was lucky, she'd gone out on her own terms, not a lot of people could claim that luxury over the past few days. He unravelled the noose and used the ripped piece of material to cover her face; of late very few deceased had been afforded much dignity. While walking back to the fence he noticed a small tool shed slumping slightly in the back yard of the house. Inside he found a decent sized shovel; he took it to the tree and began to dig a grave.

**1647 hrs**

Lewis sat under the tree taking a few swigs from his water bottle. He stared at the grave he'd taken so long to dig. It hadn't been very deep and she went into it at an odd angle, he'd had to bend her knees so she could fit, but somehow he didn't think she'd mind too much. He'd tried to find some flowers for her but was unable, so put down a few leafy branches that had survived the inferno.

His problem now was where the hell was Trout River? Without Wendy he really didn't have any clue how to get there. He should have thought to ask Cletus and Mack in the eventuality that Wendy might not be alive, but like him, the other two probably never imagined she'd take her own life. Lewis inwardly wondered if that had been her plan all along, or if it was a snap decision made as she sat in the shelter realising she'd made a stupid choice not going with the men. There was no suicide note anywhere, so perhaps it was a snap decision. Of course, none of them had any writing supplies and she might not have thought anyone would bother much if they passed by and found a woman hanged by her own hand. It was darkening, the skies heavily stained by the ash and debris from the sensational destruction. Night was approaching, he decided it best not to spend it out in the open, Lewis headed to the shelter.

**Chapter Four**

**Day Four**

**1026 hrs**

The shelter was so much cooler without three other bodies to increase the temperature of the air. It was dark, lonely and so disheartening in that shelter. He had a sleepless night, his waking moments spent in a despair so great he could understand Wendy's reasoning. He had cried so often he wasn't sure if he had any tears left to shed. He knew the excessive weeping had dehydrated him. He'd gathered some more water from the dirty barrel before retiring for the night, and he had little food left. He wasn't sure what had happened to Wendy's supply as the wrappers weren't even visible.

The teacher climbed up the ladder and out into the morbid reality of the new world. It was still as he left it. Wendy's grave still held onto the leafy branch. After walking a few metres from the shelter he realised that there was indeed a difference, the muck in the air had started to fall back down to earth, a light covering of the grey and black snow covered the ground. Lewis went to Wendy's grave. He stood there, again lamenting his atheistic status as he didn't know what to say. Eventually he settled on just saying good bye, and offered one final apology.

**1812 hrs**

It was almost pitch black again. There hadn't been much else to see along his travels that would cause him to flee in terror. He wasn't sure which way to go, so he had headed the way he'd gone with the other two earlier the day before. Eventually he reached the point where he had decided to turn back, not long after he reached a division in the road. Not knowing which way to head he simply turned onto the northern road. The buildings he passed along the way had been destroyed, most were just smouldering. It was a good sign, perhaps, that he hadn't come across anything that was still burning as it could indicate those things hadn't been here in a while. He was worried as he hadn't found anything that could serve as protection during the night. There was no light source from the night sky, the moon and stars blocked by the ash and dust. Lewis gave up on finding shelter and instead camped close to a smouldering ruin if just so he could try and warm up.

His night was again restless and disturbed. The ground uncomfortable but the warmth was comforting. He continued to mourn. Tears streaming down his face soaking the hardened ground.

**Chapter Five**

**Day Ten**

**0830 hrs**

Lewis had spent much of the last five days wandering the countryside. He'd tried to stay to the roads as much as possible if only due to his lack of knowledge of the local geography. There were no buildings left unscathed, cars were burnt out and many twisted into unrecognisable shapes. Bodies of course were also a feature of the landscape. He had not met any other living being, human or animal and including those monsters – which was probably a good thing. It was around 0831 when he found something that chilled his blood completely. At the end of the road was an American tank, it was overturned and charred and blackened from what would have been an impressively violent confrontation, and he didn't' need two guesses as to what with. Once he got round the tank he saw the rest of the decimated force. There were at least 50 tanks that were now just empty blackened husks, they littered the landscape. A series of troop trucks also lay devastated, in several the charred skeletal remains of those soldiers still sat in their seats, the distorted and melted sticks of metal in their hands indicated they met their maker well before they met those creatures on the battle field. A series of other military vehicles had also been completely eradicated. Near to this carnage lay at downed bombers and several fighter jets.

So humanity, or at least the Americans, had attempted to strike back. Lewis noted a felled sign indicating that the boarder wasn't far. Obviously these creatures had spilled out of the confines of Oregon and the American army had met them there. Whether the robots had just wanted to set up a defensive perimeter or were intending to spread beyond the state's territory, it didn't bode well for the species. Lewis then wondered if perhaps Trout River was near here, he decided to diverge from the roads and head across the paddocks. It was probably a good decision as the robots might be hunkering down near the boarder, so he could possibly run into one of them, and he didn't want that.

There was a line of trees that served as a natural boundary between two paddocks and while burnt blackened to the point their powerful trunks had crack and split, they were still stood tall and cast dark shadows across the fields. Lewis kept close to the bases of the trees, not sure of how much protection it'd give him, but better then being in the direct open. At one point he tried to climb a tree with intent to get a better view of his surrounds, but the fired branches could not support his weight and he ended up falling. Lucky not to be injured he decided against further attempts unless he found one undamaged.

**0946hrs**

Lewis had been lucky to find on his 6th day a decent supply of preserves in a basement of a partially downed house. He had fitted about 12 of them into his bag and placed another 5 into a small sports bag he found lying under a pile of collapsed boxes, the zip didn't work and one of the handles had frayed away from the bag's material but it served its purpose. He tried to keep himself disciplined and would only eat half a jar a day. So far he had stuck to that, but hunger still gnawed at his innards. He had never been a fan of sweet foods and preserves were certainly not on the top of his list of food he would eat… given a choice, but since he had none and was so desperate he forced it down. OF course, on day ten, he was only too happy to eat a few sweetened apples.

He felt a steady incline in the ground he was walking upon start to level out. Suddenly he wished he had not come this way.

"Oh sweet mother of god".

He whispered as he stared out over the mass of human bodies.

If he ever recounted that he saw thousands he would be wrong. There were millions. The bodies were stacked up in a huge heap. Some portions had been burnt others were just rotting. At least he was seeing something alive… the mass of flies and maggots was rather impressive. The bodies were all in different stages of decomposition and all had varying injuries. Some were burnt to a crisp, and not from the occasional fire in the pile, others were just body parts. The bodies were of all sectors of society, men, women, children of all ages, sizes and races. Lewis craned his head upwards to try and glance the top of the mound; he wondered who had done this. He realised who had killed them all, but had they piled these poor saps up like this, had humans done it to get the bodies out of the cities, had humans been forced to do it by those things? Regardless, it was nothing he believed he should spend too much time dwelling on; given the stench and that it only served to increase the depression and pain in his heart.

It took Lewis two hours to walk past the pile. He was in tears for most of it as he noticed the remains of so many children. It was then he noticed a little boy lying at the bottom of the pile with blond curly hair. The teacher was an emotionally cautious as he approached and crouched down by the dead child, or the remains of them. It turned out to just be a head, but the head belonged to Mitchell… of course, could it be him? It seemed completely incomprehensible that after everything that it was Mitchell's battered head lying at the base of this pile. In the dim light of the morning and the deep shadow the pile cast it was possible to wrongly identify the remains. And it had been ten days… chances are the small boy's head would be wracked with maggots and flies. Lewis decided to believe it wasn't Mitchell; logically he knew it couldn't be. The teacher just had to keep going.

**1250hrs**

He wasn't far past the pile when he saw movement up ahead. Not sure what it was he instinctively ducked down behind an overturned tractor. He peered through a gap in the broken seat. It was one of those things. It sat on a pile of rubble, not doing anything in particular, just sitting. It wasn't any he'd seen before. The robot was shorter then the others he'd seen, its colour scheme was mostly greenish brown on his limbs with light grey hands and his torso was a dusty orange colour. So far it didn't seem to be aware of Lewis' presence, which was a good thing for the human. It stood for a moment and took several steps forward. It was looking upwards at the sky, its face curled up into an evil grin and it took a defensive pose.

"I know you're there, Decepti-scum! COME AND FACE ME YOU WEAK COWARD!"

Out from between the heavy clouds came flying a fighter jet, one which Lewis was unable to identify. It had no markings that indicated human allegiance, but it was an American styled jet. Regardless of its origin it was attacking the other beast and even if the new comer wasn't a fan of humanity it was giving Lewis a chance to escape. The human clambered around the large wheel of the tractor, his rubber of the tire having melted into a sticky blob wrapped around the metal. The teacher ran across the paddock towards a hilly incline, hoping that if could make it to the other side he might be out of visual of the monsters.

Unfortunately for Lewis the land based beast was capable of multi-tasking and easily spotted the human making a break for it, he leapt up through the strafing of laser fire and landed on the body of the jet and started punching his fists into its nose.

"YOU DIE TODAY, DECEPTICON!"

He then guided the fighter into the ground, he jumped free before impact. It transformed into a small, but heavy looking jeep like vehicle and started bouncing over the landscape towards the fleeing man.

"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE DEATH, LITTLE FLESH BAG!"

Obviously he was talking to Lewis.

On the other side of the hill Lewis felt he could have lost control of his bowels when he noticed the large crevice etched into the ground, while a trench might not have been frightening, it was the huge metal spikes ripping up out of the ground with human body parts skewered on them that caused his heart to skip a few beats. The teacher managed to stop, but lost his balance and fell forward, and into a roll down the gentle slope that would feed into the pit.

The monster increased his speed and then unfolded mid jump and landed at the feet of the human. It grabbed him by his left shin and flipped him over so he was looking up at the machine that would kill him. Lewis' mouth dropped open and his lips quivered as he attempted to scream. His eyes betrayed the fear in his heart.

"You humans sure can't take it".

It added a rather nasty laugh before lifting a clenched fist and bought it speeding down towards Lewis' frozen body. However, Lewis' life would not end today as the other being his possible murderer had felled momentarily blasted him in the back. The robot slumped slightly before turning to see the jet had transformed into his robot form and was now approaching, laser ready.

"Come get your's!"

The smaller robot lunged at the jet and the two began wrestling, the jet's height did not appear to be an advantage. Lewis regained enough composure to flee, he turned and scurried down into the ditch and ran along the small stream of human fluids that had probably originated from the piles of bodies. The odour was repugnant, but he had very little choice in the matter, even breathing through his mouth didn't' assist in limiting the exposure… all it meant was he tasted it as opposed to smelled it. It was as he ran along the muck that he noticed how damaged his shoes had become, his feet were cold and even though somewhat numb he was well aware of something sludgy oozing between his toes. Shrugging off the cringe factor he kept pushing himself, the sounds of the two behemoths behind him battling only spurred him on further. As he ran, the stinking muck sloshing upwards and soaking his jeans, he came to realise how much he wanted to live. The visual image of Wendy would be added to the collection he'd amassed over the past 10 days of dread. Wendy obviously reached a point where she couldn't see anyway out, she had no hope. But why didn't she wait for a few more days? What bloodletting had she seen before meeting up with the others? How hideous was it that she could only deal with it all by dangling from a tree branch by her neck? Lewis wanted everything most people wanted, a spouse, children, his own home, financial independence, friends and health. Just a normal life, lived well, surrounded by those who cared for him and who he cared for. This current chain of events would certainly put a rather large obstacle in the road for many people, for perhaps the majority in this state at least, end the journey altogether. Lewis decided to give life a shot, to try and push for it, to yearn for it. He wasn't going to let those bastards win. Otherwise who would remember Wendy? Who would give memorial for those children, Mitchell, Phoenix and Dakota? Their parents were probably dead, their friends were gone, their older siblings and cousins most likely rotting in some mass grave or pile. If he died, no one would remember.

Yes, Lewis decided to live.


End file.
